Deposition of low-stress carbon-containing layers

Abstract

Examples of the present technology include semiconductor processing methods that provide a substrate in a substrate processing region of a substrate processing chamber, where the substrate is maintained at a temperature less than or about 50° C. An inert precursor and a hydrocarbon-containing precursor may be flowed into the substrate processing region of the substrate processing chamber, where a flow rate ratio of the inert precursor to the hydrocarbon-containing precursor may be greater than or about 10:1. A plasma may be generated from the inert precursor and the hydrocarbon-containing precursor, and a carbon-containing material may be deposited from the plasma on the substrate. The carbon-containing material may include diamond-like-carbon, and may have greater than or about 60% of the carbon atoms with sp3 hybridized bonds.

The invention claimed is: 
     
       1. A semiconductor processing method comprising:
 providing a substrate in a substrate processing region of a substrate processing chamber, wherein the substrate is maintained at a temperature less than or about 50° C.; 
 flowing an inert precursor and a hydrocarbon-containing precursor into the substrate processing region of the substrate processing chamber, wherein a flow rate ratio of the inert precursor to the hydrocarbon-containing precursor is greater than or about 10:1; 
 generating a plasma from the inert precursor and the hydrocarbon-containing precursor; and 
 depositing a carbon-containing material from the plasma on the substrate. 
 
     
     
       2. The semiconductor processing method of  claim 1 , wherein the hydrocarbon-containing precursor is flowed at a flow rate of less than or about 50 sccm. 
     
     
       3. The semiconductor processing method of  claim 1 , wherein the inert precursor is flowed at a flow rate of more than or about 1000 sccm. 
     
     
       4. The semiconductor processing method of  claim 1 , wherein the substrate processing chamber is maintained at a pressure of less than or about 100 mTorr. 
     
     
       5. The semiconductor processing method of  claim 1 , wherein the carbon-containing material is deposited at an average thickness greater than or about 10 Å. 
     
     
       6. The semiconductor processing method of  claim 1 , wherein the hydrocarbon-containing precursor comprises acetylene. 
     
     
       7. The semiconductor processing method of  claim 1 , wherein the inert precursor comprises at least one of helium or argon. 
     
     
       8. The semiconductor processing method of  claim 1 , wherein the plasma is a bias plasma formed at a bias power greater than 2000 Watts. 
     
     
       9. The semiconductor processing method of  claim 1 , wherein the carbon-containing material is characterized by an as-deposited stress that is less than or about −500 MPa. 
     
     
       10. A semiconductor processing method comprising:
 providing a substrate in a substrate processing region of a substrate processing chamber, wherein the substrate is maintained at a temperature less than or about 50° C.; 
 generating a plasma from a deposition precursor comprising a hydrocarbon-containing precursor in the substrate processing region of the substrate processing chamber, wherein the plasma is a bias plasma generated at a bias power of greater than or about 3000 W, wherein the deposition precursor further comprises an inert precursor, and wherein a flow rate ratio of the inert precursor to the hydrocarbon-containing precursor is greater than or about 10:1; and 
 depositing a carbon-containing material from the plasma on the substrate. 
 
     
     
       11. The semiconductor processing method of  claim 10 , wherein the bias power is greater than or about 4000 Watts. 
     
     
       12. The semiconductor processing method of  claim 10 , wherein the bias power is delivered at an operating frequency less than or about 13.56 MHz. 
     
     
       13. A semiconductor processing method comprising:
 generating a plasma from a hydrocarbon-containing precursor in a substrate processing region of a substrate processing chamber; and 
 depositing a carbon-containing material from the plasma on a substrate in the substrate processing region of the substrate processing chamber, wherein the carbon-containing material is characterized by an as-deposited stress that is less than or about −500 MPa, and wherein the carbon-containing material comprises less than or about 25 mol % hydrogen. 
 
     
     
       14. The semiconductor processing method of  claim 13 , wherein the substrate is maintained at a temperature less than or about 50° C. 
     
     
       15. The semiconductor processing method of  claim 13 , wherein the plasma is also generated from an inert precursor comprising at least one of helium or argon, and wherein a flow rate ratio of the inert precursor to the hydrocarbon-containing precursor is greater than or about 10:1. 
     
     
       16. The semiconductor processing method of  claim 13 , wherein the carbon-containing material comprises greater than or about 60% carbon atoms with sp 3  hybridized bonds. 
     
     
       17. The semiconductor processing method of  claim 13 , wherein the carbon-containing material comprises a diamond-like carbon.